1. Field of the invention
The invention generally relates to fishing and in particular to signal devices.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
Fishing reels often have a built in drag system that can be adjusted or calibrated by the angler by means of a knob or lever. This allows the angler to apply more or less resistance pressure on the fishing line before the fishing line unspools from the fishing reel. The main reason for this drag system is to prevent the fishing line from breaking when more pressure is applied on the fishing line than the fishing line can withstand. When a fish is on the end of the fishing line and exerts more pressure than the fishing line can withstand, the fishing line would part and the fish would be lost if it were not for the drag system on the fishing reel allowing the fishing line to unspool, as necessary, off of the fishing reel with less pressure than the breaking point of the fishing line.
One problem for a fisherman is that common fishing reels have no mechanism to measure and report the fishing reel drag setting. Typically the drag setting will be adjusted with consideration for the test strength of the line. Currently it is adjusted by feel. Through the years many improvements have been made to fishing reels by fishing reel manufacturers including materials used to build fishing reels. No improvements have been made or added to fishing reels over many years with regards to setting the fishing reel drag. Most anglers set the fishing reel drag by feel, the same way it has been done for decades.
Because fishing equipment is used in a harsh marine environment, corrosion and deterioration to a fishing reel and fishing rod components from salt and outdoor elements have always been a problem. Mechanical equipment or equipment relying upon moving parts is prone to failure due to contact with salt water, dirt, and contaminants. The records of the United States Patent Office show several devices and methods of mechanically measuring drag. These devices have required moving parts and mechanical elements. They share a likelihood of failure or loss of calibration when used in a marine setting.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,318,295 to Pekin shows a fishing rod with integrated line tension measurement system and readout in selected units of force, such as pounds. The reel mount on the Pekin rod is arranged to slide linearly on a seat portion of the rod. The reel mount is located on a splined portion of the rod in front of the handle. The splines prevent the reel mount from twisting on the rod. The fishing line pulls both the reel and the reel mount forward, against a pressure sensor that measures the forward force. The pressure sensor communicates the measurement to an electronic system with readout display. The fisherman is allowed to preset a threshold tension limit. If the threshold is reached, the electronic system actuates an audible alarm.
It would be desirable for a tension measurement system to have no moving parts to maintain. The Pekin device is illustrated as being sandwiched on the fishing rod at the fishing rod butt. This positioning makes disassembly of the tubular spline impossible for cleaning, lubrication, inspection and maintenance. Without the ability to disassemble clean and lubricate moving parts, the Pekin device can be expected to fail after being exposed to a marine environment.
More generally, it would be desirable for a drag sensor to not require the presence of a reel seat. Not every rod has a predefined a reel seat. A fishing rod without a fishing reel seat allows the fisherman to mount the fishing reel in the location of choice on the fishing rod. The advantage of this option is a fishing reel can be mounted in a location most comfortable for the fisherman. A tall person with long arms sometimes is not comfortable with a fishing reel mounted in the same location on the fishing rod as a small person with short arms. It would be desirable to have a drag sensor that can be mounted to any fishing rod, with or without a reel seat.
A common problem for many fishermen is to achieve proper fishing technique. Particularly in deep sea fishing, the battle with a large fish can extend for a long time. A novice fisherman frequently desires to hold the rod quite high, perhaps to protect his own back against fatigue during the lengthy battle to land the fish. Skilled fishermen believe that a high rod position is not desirable, on the basis that the fish is subjected to less than a desired amount of force or pressure from the rod. However, convincing the student fisherman to employ a more effective rod angle has proven to be difficult, because the novice is not convinced that another angle is better.
It would also be desirable to have the capability to show a novice fisherman how much force or pressure he is applying against a fish during a lengthy battle. A suitable device showing tension on a rod during the battle can guide the fisherman to hold the rod in an effective position to tire the fish.
A common fishing reel is equipped with two methods for mounting to a common fishing rod. One method is a mounting foot with two ears. The foot with ears on the fishing reel is in a location centered under the fishing reel with the two ears opposing each other with one ear facing toward the tip and the other ear toward the bottom of the butt of a fishing rod in linear alignment. A common fishing reel seat will accommodate the fishing reel foot with ears and by securing them by two rings on the fishing reel seat. The rings can slide over the ears to a snug position and firmly secure the fishing reel.
The other method common to fishing reels is by means of a clamp. There are two bolts centered under the fishing reel and extending downward, spaced to receive the fishing rod between them. A clamp is bridged between the two bolts to sandwich the fishing rod between the clamp and the reel. The clamp is firmly secured to the rod by placing and tightening nuts on the two bolts. This method does not require a fishing reel seat. The fishing reel can be secured to the fishing rod by clamping it at a desired location along the length of the rod.
Where a sensor relies upon movement along a spline or slide, it is important for the sliding motion to be free. Thus, the position of a sensor with respect to a fishing rod can influence its accuracy. A sliding sensor relying on forward fishing line tension, where the fishing line is at an angle from the center of the spline or slide as found in Pekin, can lead to binding and give inaccurate measurement. Where a sensor must be positioned to communicate with a fishing line applying forward angular tension, it is desirable for the sensor to have no moving parts to bind or cause inaccurate reading.
A sensor placed where the fisherman will touch it will produce false readings. With the Pekin device, the fisherman has a hand on the fishing reel handle. Touching any part of the reel will change the tension being exerted and cause a false reading. It would be desirable for a sensor to be placed where the fisherman need not touch it while battling a fish, so that the sensor will always read accurately while sufficient tension is applied by the fishing line to cause the fishing rod to flex.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,252 to Kruse shows a transducer that determines force on a rod by responding to the deflection of the rod. With increased deflection, the circuitry increases a time period for counting signals. The greater the number of signals that are counted, the greater the force is reported on a display. The transducer must be mounted either inside the fishing rod or in a groove that must be formed on the underside of the rod.
It would be desirable to mount a sensing device on a fishing rod without adversely affecting the integrity, strength and performance of the fishing rod. Having to place a transducer inside a rod or having to form a groove in the rod to receive a transducer limits the application of the transducer. A further limitation on use arises in a scheme as taught by Kruse because complicated circuitry with many moving parts can lead to loss of performance in a harsh marine environment. The complexity of the circuitry also requires a skilled technician to perform calibration. As it is likely that the calibration will change when the device is in actual use in a marine environment, a more reliable and user friendly sensor system would be desirable.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,322,253 to Owens discloses a handgrip that attaches to a fishing rod and contains various sensors for detecting tension of the fishing line. The device has multi-mode ability, in one mode responding to lateral pull on the rod tip and in the second mode responding to axial pull on the fishing line.
It would be desirable for any tension measuring device to be independent of a handgrip on the rod. Employing the tension measurement device as a hand grip introduces limitations in how the fishing rod is handled. For example, the angler may prefer to hold the rod elsewhere, whether to aid handling the reel or to obtain leverage, but such variation in handling alters the functionality of the Owens device.
The handgrip adds the further disadvantage of employing moving parts to sense tension. Moving parts require cleaning, lubrication, and maintenance, which is a disadvantage in a marine environment. Moving parts can easily fail after being exposed to a fishing environment. The use of a handgrip to take measurements is likely to be inaccurate because the fisherman has a hand wrapped tightly around the handgrip. The hand will exert added pressure to the tension of the fishing line. Line tension will change due to the hand tension being exerted and cause a false reading. The angler is likely to introduce additional inaccuracy and perhaps cause binding due to expected human variation in hand placement.
It would be desirable for a tension measurement device to take into account the specific characteristics of the associated fishing rod. The Owens handgrip derives tension information without regard to the physical parameters of the rod itself. It would be an improvement for the sensing device to use the fishing rod to obtain information.
To set fishing reel drag by feel, the angler typically pulls on the fishing line with one hand while holding the rod and reel with the other until the line unspools off the fishing reel. In this fashion the fisherman can feel how much pressure it took to make the fishing line unspool off of the fishing reel. If the angler is not satisfied with the amount of resistance pressure, the fishing reel drag lever is adjusted higher or lower until the drag pressure feels right. A huge question is “What feels right?” An experienced angler has an idea from past experience but it is still a guess and it changes based on the line strength (test). An inexperienced angler has no idea and may be caught in a dilemma.
If the fishing reel drag is set too tight, a large fish may break the fishing line. If the fishing reel drag is set too loose, a large fish may just unspool all the fishing line off of the fishing reel and keep going. In either event the fish will be lost.
Common fishing line has a manufacturer's pound test rating. This rating indicates the maximum pressure in pounds of force that it will take to part the line. It is agreed by most experienced anglers that a fishing reel drag should be set at 25% of the fishing line pound test rating. For example, if a fishing reel has 40-pound test fishing line, then fishing reel drag should be set at 10 pounds of drag. When the drag of this example is set properly and more than 10 pounds of pressure is put on the fishing line, it should unspool from the fishing reel.
Another problem the angler encounters is that fishing reel drag pressure changes constantly and inadvertently when a fish is fought. What was right a few moments before may have changed due to unforeseen circumstances. The angler has no way of knowing if this has happened except for feel. A few of the many things that contribute to change in fishing reel drag are heat from fishing reel drag friction, moisture from the marine environment, change in diameter of the fishing reel arbor when fishing line is paid out, or that the angler accidentally has bumping the drag adjustment lever on the fishing reel in the heat of battle with a fish.
It would be desirable to have a means for guiding and assisting the angler in setting the fishing reel drag to a more accurate setting than just empirical feel, prior to deploying the fishing equipment.
To achieve the foregoing and other objects and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the method and apparatus of this invention may comprise the following.